FDI projects disbursed $1.55 billion in capital during January, up 9.2 per cent against January 2018, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) released on January 29.

Total newly-registered and additional capital and capital contributions and shares purchased by foreign investors stood at $1.9 billion in the first month of the year, up 51.9 per cent compared to January 2018.

As at January 20, 266 new projects had been granted investment licenses this year with total newly-registered capital of nearly $805 million, up 81.9 per cent year-on-year, while 72 projects added capital to the tune of $340.2 million, equal to 74.5 per cent of the figure in 2017.

There were 498 instances of capital contributions and share purchases by foreign investors in the period, with capital contributions standing at $761.8 million, up 114 per cent year-on-year.

Eighteen fields received investment from foreign investors, in which processing and manufacturing attracted much attention, with total capital of nearly $1.19 billion, accounting for 62.4 per cent of all capital. Science and technology ranked second, with $185.8 million, accounting for 9.7 per cent, while real estate ranked third, with $179.1 million, or 9.3 per cent.

There were 51 countries and territories with investment projects in Vietnam in January. Japan led the way, with nearly $364 million, making up 19 per cent of the total. China followed, with $307.8 million, or 16.1 per cent.

Thirty-nine cities and provinces received investment in the month, in which Ho Chi Minh City attracted the most, with $745.7 million, or 39.1 per cent of the total. Southern Binh Duong province ranked second, with $240 million, or 12.5 per cent, then northern Hai Duong province, with $125.7 million, or 6.5 per cent.

As at January 20, Vietnam had 27,643 valid projects with total registered capital of $340.1 billion. Disbursed capital totaled an estimated $191.4 billion, or 56.2 per cent.

Foreign investors have invested in 19 out of 21 sectors, in which processing and manufacturing accounted for the highest, with $195.3 billion, making up 57.4 per cent of the total, followed by real estate with $57.9 billion, or 17 per cent, then the production and distribution of electricity, gas and water, with $23 billion, or 6.7 per cent.

There are 130 countries and territories with valid investment projects. South Korea ranks first, with $62.5 billion, or 18.3 per cent of the total. Japan followed, with $57 billion, or 16.7 per cent, then Singapore, Taiwan, the British Virgin Islands, and Hong Kong.

FDI projects are found in all 63 cities and provinces around the country, in which Ho Chi Minh City continues to rank top, with $45 billion, or 13.2 per cent of the total, followed by Hanoi with nearly $33.1 billion, or 9.7 per cent, and southern Binh Duong province, with $31.7 billion, or 9.3 per cent.

Exports by the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) were $13.58 billion in January, up 67.9 per cent year-on-year and accounting for nearly 94.9 per cent of the total. Exports excluding crude oil stood at $13.4 billion, equal to 95 per cent of the figure in January 2018 and accounting for 67 per cent of the total.

Imports by the FDI sector were $11.75 billion in the month, equal to 98.7 per cent of the figure in January 2018 and capturing 56.4 per cent of total import turnover. The FDI sector therefore recorded a trade surplus of $1.83 billion including crude oil and $1.65 billion excluding crude oil during the month.